Settings

Set these in config.toml (datui config init writes one with every key commented out), or for one run with -c KEY=VALUE:

printf 'a,b\n1,2\n' | datui -c display.row_numbers=true

A flag beats -c, which beats the config files, which beat the defaults. datui config keys lists every key with its value in effect and where it was set. See Configure datui for where the file lives, imports, the theme and troubleshooting.

Type	Written as
size	A number and a unit: `512MiB`, `2GiB`, `100KiB` (`MB`, `GB` are powers of 1000). `0` needs none
duration	A number and a unit: `250ms`, `1.5s`, `2m`
list	In a file, a TOML array; with `-c`, `a,b` or the array
color	A name (`red`, `bright_blue`, `default`), `#rrggbb` or `indexed(0-255)`

Top level

Key	Type	Default	Flag	Description
`import`	list	`[]`		Config files merged in before this one, in order; this file’s own values win. Paths may be relative to this file, or use ~ and $VAR.
`catalogs`	list of path \| { path, id, label }	`[]`		Catalog files elsewhere, listed on the home screen after catalog.toml and the config directory’s catalogs/*.toml, each a section; see Catalogs. Each is a path, or { path, id, label } to give it another id or label. Paths may be relative to this file. Adds up across imports.

Read

[read] How files are read. A file’s own layout (delimiter, header, rows to skip) is a flag for that file, not a setting.

Key	Type	Default	Flag	Description
`read.infer_types`	bool \| list of columns	`true`	`--infer-types`	Read string columns as dates, times, durations or numbers where every value parses, after trimming: true for all, false for none, or a list of columns. CSV, and dates in JSON. A column with a leading zero (02134) stays text; a later value that does not parse is null, and the Notes tab counts them.
`read.parquet_schema`	union \| first	`"union"`		A partitioned Parquet dataset’s schema: union is every column any file has, from their footers; first lets Polars take one file’s.
`read.decompress_in_memory`	bool	`false`		Decompress a compressed CSV, TSV or PSV into memory instead of to a temp file.
`read.temp_dir`	path	unset	`--temp-dir`	Directory for decompression temp files. Unset: the system’s.
`read.follow_interval`	duration	`"250ms"`		With –follow, how often the file is checked for new rows, or on Linux the least time between two reads, 10ms to 1m. Appends within one interval are one refresh.
`read.exact_count_files`	integer	`50000`		A dataset of more files than this shows a row count estimated from a sample of its footers until c in the Info panel counts it; 0 always counts.
`read.memory_warning`	size	`"1GiB"`		Ask before reading more than this of a file whole into memory (JSON, Avro, ORC, Excel and the other formats read in memory); 0 never asks.
`read.audio_float`	bool	`false`		Show integer audio samples as float in [-1, 1].

CSV

[csv] CSV, TSV and PSV. A delimited format spec takes these keys too.

Key	Type	Default	Flag	Description
`csv.comment`	string	unset	`--comment`	Lines starting with this are comments, before the header and among the data.
`csv.header_join`	string	`" "`		Joins a column’s names when –header-rows names several lines.
`csv.skip_initial_space`	bool	`false`	`--skip-initial-space`	Ignore the spaces after a delimiter, so padded numbers are numbers and a cell of spaces is null.
`csv.null_values`	list	`[]`	`--null`	Values read as null: VAL in every column, COL=VAL in column COL only. –null is repeatable and replaces this list.
`csv.infer_rows`	integer	`1000`	`--infer-rows`	Rows read to infer column types.
`csv.ignore_errors`	bool	`false`	`--ignore-errors`	Skip rows that do not parse instead of failing.

Display

[display]

Key	Type	Default	Flag	Description
`display.unicode`	auto \| always \| never	`"auto"`		Box-drawing and arrow glyphs, or plain ASCII. auto uses them when the locale is UTF-8.
`display.row_numbers`	“auto” \| bool	`"auto"`	`--row-numbers`	Number rows on the left by their place in the source, kept through a sort or filter (# toggles). auto: for text and logs; true or false: for all of them.
`display.row_numbers_start`	integer	`1`		The number of the source’s first row.
`display.cell_padding`	“comfortable” \| “compact” \| integer	`"comfortable"`		Space between columns: comfortable (2 cells), compact (1) or a number of cells.
`display.column_colors`	bool	`true`		Color cells by column type.
`display.type_row`	bool	`true`		A second header row naming each column’s type (D toggles).
`display.notes_accent`	bool	`true`		Accent the i key when datui has noticed something about the data.
`display.mouse`	bool	`true`	`--mouse`	Take the mouse: the wheel scrolls, a click selects. false leaves it to the terminal.
`display.sidebar_width`	integer	unset		Width of every sidebar, in cells. Unset: each sidebar’s own.
`display.right_align_numbers`	bool	`true`		Right-align numeric columns and their headers.
`display.number_format`	preset \| table	`"none"`	`--number-format`	Digit grouping: none, thousands, european, si, swiss, indian, underscore or system, or a [display.number_format] table (, toggles).

Performance

[performance] The rows the table buffers between reads, and the engine.

Key	Type	Default	Description
`performance.pages_ahead`	integer	`3`	Pages of rows buffered ahead of the screen.
`performance.pages_behind`	integer	`3`	Pages of rows buffered behind the screen.
`performance.max_buffered_rows`	integer	`100000`	Most rows the table buffers between reads; 0 for no limit.
`performance.max_buffered`	size	`"512MiB"`	Most memory the buffered rows may take, estimated from the schema; 0 for no limit. Rounded up to whole MiB.
`performance.streaming`	bool	`true`	Use the Polars streaming engine where it applies.

Analysis

[analysis] Analysis, Data Quality and charts.

Key	Type	Default	Flag	Description
`analysis.sample_rows`	integer	`100000`	`--sample-rows`	Rows an analysis samples from a larger table, spread across all of it; 0 reads every row.
`analysis.chart_rows`	integer	`10000`		Rows a chart reads; a larger table is sampled across all of it.
`analysis.chart_grid`	bool	`false`		Start charts with a grid at the major ticks (g toggles).
`analysis.quality_local_copy`	size	`"2GiB"`		Most a Data Quality full scan of a remote dataset copies into the cache to read once; 0 never copies.
`analysis.sample_memory_limit`	size	unset		Most memory a view’s sample may take. Unset: the memory available now decides; 0 never warns or stops.

Chart

[chart] Charts exported to a file (e in the chart view).

Key	Type	Default	Flag	Description
`chart.export_recipe`	bool	`true`		Embed how an exported chart was made (source path, query, chart, sample) in its PNG, SVG or PDF. The export dialog’s Recipe row starts from it.

Home

[home] The home screen.

Key	Type	Default	Description
`home.desktop_recents`	bool	`true`	Also list directories from the desktop’s recently-used files; never the file names.
`home.show_unreadable`	bool	`false`	List files datui cannot read, dimmed (Ctrl+A toggles).
`home.hide`	list	`[]`	Catalogs not shown, by id: mine (catalog.toml), examples, or a listed file’s name; one entry as catalog/id, such as examples/nyc-taxis. Adds up across imports.
`home.preview_max`	size	`"64MiB"`	Largest local file whose first rows the home screen previews; 0 turns the preview off.

Home search

[home.search] Searching below the working directory as you type on the home screen.

Key	Type	Default	Description
`home.search.enabled`	bool	`true`	Search below the working directory as you type.
`home.search.max_depth`	integer	`8`	How many directories deep the search goes.
`home.search.max_results`	integer	`1000`	Matches listed; the rest are counted.
`home.search.time_budget`	duration	`"1500ms"`	How long the search walks before keeping what it found.
`home.search.cross_filesystems`	bool	`false`	Descend into other filesystems, network mounts included.
`home.search.follow_gitignore`	bool	`false`	Skip what .gitignore ignores.
`home.search.skip`	list	`["node_modules", "target", "build", "dist", "vendor", "site-packages", "__pycache__", "venv", "env"]`	Directory names never searched. Replaces the defaults; skip_extra adds to them.
`home.search.skip_extra`	list	`[]`	Directory names never searched, besides skip.
`home.search.extensions`	list	`[]`	Extensions searched for; empty means those of the formats datui reads.

Cloud

[cloud] See Cloud sources for [[cloud.connections]].

Key	Type	Default	Description
`cloud.connections`	tables	unset	Cloud stores to list on the home screen; see Cloud sources.
`cloud.hide`	list	`[]`	Cloud source IDs not shown on the home screen. Adds up across imports.
`cloud.use_azure_account_keys`	bool	`true`	Read an Azure account with its access keys when a sign-in has no data role, as the Portal does.
`cloud.env_files`	list	`[]`	Files to read cloud variables from, relative to the working directory, such as .env. Adds up across imports.
`cloud.instance_identity`	bool	`false`	Use the identity of the cloud VM datui runs on (EC2, GCE, Azure).
`cloud.discover`	bool \| “all” \| “none” \| list	unset	Logins found on this machine that become home-screen sources: all (unset), none, or kinds from s3, gcs, azure.
`cloud.list_on_start`	bool	`false`	List every source’s buckets when the home screen opens, not when one is entered.

HTTP

[http] Every request datui makes: HTTP(S) files, cloud stores and their sign-ins.

Key	Type	Default	Flag	Description
`http.user_agent`	string	`""`		The User-Agent header on every request. Empty sends datui/VERSION (+https://github.com/derekwisong/datui), which names datui and its version and nothing about you.

Query

[query]

Key	Type	Default	Description
`query.history_limit`	integer	`1000`	Queries remembered.
`query.history`	bool	`true`	Remember queries.
`query.default_mode`	sql \| q	`"sql"`	The language : starts in, until Ctrl+T picks another.

Views

[views]

Key	Type	Default	Flag	Description
`views.auto_apply`	bool	`false`		Apply the best-matching view when a file opens.

Clipboard

[clipboard] How the copy dialog (y) reaches the system clipboard.

Key	Type	Default	Flag	Description
`clipboard.backend`	auto \| native \| osc52	`"auto"`		auto: the display server where one answers, osc52 elsewhere (SSH). osc52 is an escape sequence the terminal applies.
`clipboard.osc52_limit`	size	`"100KiB"`		Longest osc52 copy to attempt, as base64. Terminals cap what they accept.

Formats

[formats] Where format specs and dictionaries are found.

Key	Type	Default	Flag	Description
`formats.path`	list	`[]`		Directories of format specs and dictionaries, searched after ~/.config/datui/formats and $DATUI_FORMATS_PATH. Adds up across imports.

Log

[log]

Key	Type	Default	Flag	Description
`log.file`	path	unset	`--log-file`	Where the log goes. Unset: datui.log in the cache directory.
`log.level`	error \| warn \| info \| debug \| trace \| off	unset	`--log-level`	How much the log says (default warn). DATUI_LOG beats a config file’s; -c and –log-level beat DATUI_LOG.

Theme

[theme]

Key	Type	Default	Description
`theme.mode`	auto \| dark \| light	unset	Which mode’s theme to use: theme.dark or theme.light. auto follows the terminal’s answer about its background, else its last answer, then COLORFGBG, then dark; it asks again when the terminal regains focus.
`theme.dark`	string	`"night-market"`	The theme used when the terminal is dark: night-market, day-market, or a file’s name in the config directory’s themes/. A name that cannot be used falls back to night-market, with a warning when dark is in use.
`theme.light`	string	`"day-market"`	The theme used when the terminal is light: night-market, day-market, or a file’s name in the config directory’s themes/. A name that cannot be used falls back to day-market, with a warning when light is in use.

Colors

[theme.colors] Each slot takes a name (red, bright_blue, default), #rrggbb or indexed(0-255). They lie over the theme in use, theme.dark or theme.light, in either mode; a whole theme of your own goes in a file in themes/.

Key	Dark	Light	Description
`theme.colors.chip_key`	`#7dcfff`	`#2e7de9`	Keys named in the footer, dialogs, the breadcrumb and the correlation matrix.
`theme.colors.chip_label`	`#a9b1d6`	`#3760bf`	Labels beside keys in the footer, and the footer’s status.
`theme.colors.throbber`	`#7dcfff`	`#2e7de9`	The busy spinner.
`theme.colors.success`	`#9ece6a`	`#587539`	Success.
`theme.colors.error`	`#f7768e`	`#f52a65`	Errors.
`theme.colors.warning`	`#e0af68`	`#8c6c3e`	Warnings.
`theme.colors.dimmed`	`#565f89`	`#848cb5`	Dimmed text, nulls and axes.
`theme.colors.background`	`default`	`default`	Main background.
`theme.colors.surface`	`default`	`default`	Dialog background.
`theme.colors.controls_bg`	`#262a3f`	`#d0d5e3`	Count chips and dialogs’ key chips.
`theme.colors.text_primary`	`default`	`default`	Text.
`theme.colors.text_secondary`	`#737aa2`	`#6172b0`	Secondary text.
`theme.colors.text_inverse`	`#1a1b26`	`#e1e2e7`	Text on a key chip.
`theme.colors.table_header`	`#c0caf5`	`#3760bf`	Header text.
`theme.colors.table_header_bg`	`#2b3047`	`#c4c8da`	Header fill.
`theme.colors.table_row_numbers`	`#565f89`	`#848cb5`	The row-number column.
`theme.colors.table_column_separator`	`#3b4261`	`#a8aecb`	The rule after frozen columns and beside section titles.
`theme.colors.table_selected`	`#283457`	`#b6bfe2`	Tint under the current row; reversed swaps text and background instead.
`theme.colors.table_column_cursor`	`#292e42`	`#cbd3f2`	Tint under the column cursor’s cells.
`theme.colors.table_cell_cursor`	`#3b4261`	`#a0aef0`	The column cursor’s header and the current cell.
`theme.colors.sidebar_border`	`#565f89`	`#6172b0`	Sidebar and dialog borders.
`theme.colors.modal_border_active`	`#7dcfff`	`#2e7de9`	The focused dialog’s border.
`theme.colors.modal_border_error`	`#f7768e`	`#f52a65`	An error dialog’s border.
`theme.colors.distribution_normal`	`#9ece6a`	`#587539`	Analysis: a normal distribution.
`theme.colors.distribution_skewed`	`#e0af68`	`#8c6c3e`	Analysis: a skewed distribution.
`theme.colors.distribution_other`	`#c0caf5`	`#3760bf`	Analysis: other distributions.
`theme.colors.outlier_marker`	`#f7768e`	`#f52a65`	Analysis: outliers.
`theme.colors.input_cursor`	`default`	`default`	The text caret; default reverses the text under it.
`theme.colors.input_cursor_text`	`default`	`default`	Text under the caret block; default picks black or white by contrast.
`theme.colors.table_alternate_row`	`#1e2030`	`#dcdfea`	Every other row; default turns the stripe off.
`theme.colors.type_str`	`#9ece6a`	`#587539`	String columns.
`theme.colors.type_int`	`#7aa2f7`	`#2e7de9`	Integer columns.
`theme.colors.type_float`	`#2ac3de`	`#007197`	Float columns.
`theme.colors.type_bool`	`#e0af68`	`#8c6c3e`	Boolean columns.
`theme.colors.type_temporal`	`#bb9af7`	`#9854f1`	Date, time and datetime columns.
`theme.colors.type_binary`	`#565f89`	`#848cb5`	Binary columns’ placeholder.
`theme.colors.chart_1`	`#7dcfff`	`#2e7de9`	Chart series 1; also histogram bars, bar charts and Q-Q points.
`theme.colors.chart_2`	`#bb9af7`	`#9854f1`	Chart series 2.
`theme.colors.chart_3`	`#9ece6a`	`#587539`	Chart series 3.
`theme.colors.chart_4`	`#e0af68`	`#8c6c3e`	Chart series 4.
`theme.colors.chart_5`	`#7aa2f7`	`#007197`	Chart series 5.
`theme.colors.chart_6`	`#f7768e`	`#f52a65`	Chart series 6.
`theme.colors.chart_7`	`#ff9e64`	`#b15c00`	Chart series 7.
`theme.colors.chart_8`	`#1abc9c`	`#118c74`	Chart series 8.
`theme.colors.chart_9`	`#ff5fd2`	`#d1188c`	Chart series 9.
`theme.colors.chart_10`	`#f4ef8a`	`#24357a`	Chart series 10.
`theme.colors.chart_grid`	`#3d4785`	`#70aabf`	The chart grid, a shade dimmer than dimmed.
`theme.colors.accent`	`#7dcfff`	`#2e7de9`	Key chips, focused titles and the selection rail.
`theme.colors.accent_bright`	`#a4daff`	`#1a6cd0`	The section the cursor is in.
`theme.colors.gradient_start`	`#7aa2f7`	`#2e7de9`	The wordmark’s first stop.
`theme.colors.gradient_end`	`#bb9af7`	`#9854f1`	The wordmark’s last stop.
`theme.colors.find_match`	`#e0af68`	`#f0c35a`	Behind the cell a find landed on.
`theme.colors.hex_null`	`#565f89`	`#848cb5`	Hex view: the byte 0x00.
`theme.colors.hex_printable`	`#7dcfff`	`#007197`	Hex view: printable ASCII.
`theme.colors.hex_whitespace`	`#9ece6a`	`#587539`	Hex view: whitespace bytes.
`theme.colors.hex_control`	`#bb9af7`	`#9854f1`	Hex view: other control bytes.
`theme.colors.hex_high`	`#e0af68`	`#8c6c3e`	Hex view: 0x80 to 0xFE.
`theme.colors.hex_ff`	`#f7768e`	`#f52a65`	Hex view: the byte 0xFF.

Glyphs

[glyphs]

Key	Type	Default	Flag	Description
`glyphs.*`	string \| list	unset		A glyph slot from glyphs.rs, replaced when the Unicode set is active. Keeps the width of the glyph it replaces.

The environment variables datui reads are in Environment variables.

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